Create: For the Home & and ETSY update!

i recently had the thrill of having an altered clock published in the current issue of Create: For the Home and have been waiting patiently to share with you. :)
the clock was non-functioning when i found it sitting on the shelf of my local thrift store---already painted that lovely neutral taupe color with gold-leafing on the edges. i scored it for a whopping $1.91 and made it my goal to make the gold-leafing look like it was meant to be rather than sanding it down and giving it a new paint job.
i must say, i'm pretty pleased with how well the Twig products from Little Yellow Bicycle allowed the gold to blend right in. i carefully selected some antique-gold embellishments from Karen Foster Design to pull it all together.

i used a nice coating of mod-podge on all the paper and sticker embellishments to ensure that this would be a decor item that could take the beating of being shipped through the postal service. i was delighted to unwrap it and see that it held up without incident. :)

if you have your own copy, you can find the project and instructions on page 61.

i'm still debating on whether to put it in my etsy shop-----which i'm thrilled to say is no longer empty! YAY!
i just finished loading *almost* all the cards you've seen on the blog here in the last several months. i still have a small handful to list, along with an overflowing pile of handmade yo-yo embellishments.

my goal is to have those in the shop by next weekend. *fingers crossed*

ps......don't forget about the Fiskars giveaway two posts down. entries close Saturday evening at 11:59PM Eastern.

ETSY update is live!

lots of cards were added to my shop late last night....some are already gone. get 'em while you can!

i'll upgrade all Valentine card orders to PRIORITY MAIL (on my dime) so you'll have them in time. :)

50% off in my ETSY.

i'll get my act together and be back to regular posting soon.

but, these have been sitting in the shop for far too long so i just reduced them 50% off the original listed price.

Halloween Greeting Cards featuring Boo-Ville

i've been at it again.......playing with the lovely Little Yellow Bicycle Boo-Ville product!

it's the perfect excuse to let my inner child come out and get funky with the color purple! it used to be my favorite color, but red has taken over the favorite spot. you don't find too many scrapbooking products that are purple. hrmph.

anywho. it's kinda hard to see in that first picture all the dimension and gloss that this card has, so i took a close up. the EEK! and the spider web are both epoxy stickers layered on a journaling block cardstock-weight sticker. then, the little jack-o-lanterns are hiding behind some crumbled 'grass'.

and, i'm a huge fan of making cards pretty both inside and out! i talk about it a lot in my Cards: Beautifully Handmade e-book. (little shameless plug there). so, here's the peek at the inside of the card above.

this next card looks a bit fussy on the front, but it honestly took just a few minutes of tinkering, thanks to the Collage Stripe Patterned Paper. it's super cute with glitter accents and thermography on the green polka dot pattern.
here's a peek at the full sheet so you can see how i cut it down. just a note: all the cards you see today are built on 5 x 7 cards from Bazzill.

as you can see, to the paper, i added the mirror sticker, the black bat clear accent, a favorite phrase sticker 'happy halloween', black ribbon and some star gems.

the inside is super simple, but carries the color scheme through with another favorite phrase sticker and a spider & web clear accent.

i'm SO not a fan of spiders---just ask my husband how many times i holler for him to come kill one. but, this spider? he's SO cute. don'tcha think?


last card share for today. this one makes me happy. totally fun vibe going on. it's hard to see the cute faces on the bats. they are epoxy also, with lots of glare. epoxy accents are hard to photograph.
detail that's hard to see on this one is the 'happy halloween' is a clear accent with lots of sparkly glitter and that cute spider again.

with a carry-thru design to the inside and lots of room to add your personal sentiment.

and more detail on the clear glittered accent. these accents are by far my favorite thing in this whole collection. irresistible!


i've made several cards and will be sending them to school with a huge Hershey candy bar for each of the girls' teachers.....BUT, these cards are bonus.

if you're not the crafty type, you can find them in my ETSY shop NOW! i'll automatically upgrade to free priority shipping to ensure you have them in time.

melanie...this one's for you.

custom etsy order....very similar to a card i posted the other day with a little more 'masculine' thrown in.

note to self:

now in the shop.

been a card makin' fool....kinda.

(warning: picture heavy post ahead)


with sick kids, doctor appointments and other such nonsense that keeps me hopping, i haven't had much uninterrupted time in the studio the past few weeks. but i have been able steal away small moments here and there to push around scraps of paper. the result = cards for the shop.


this one above is using the gorgeous FreeSpirit collection from Little Yellow Bicycle and makes me giddy just looking at it! i really should have made use of it myself instead of listing it---but, i know it will make some friend out there ridiculously happy to open it. yes?

the pearls on the acetate flower accent steal my heart. and the dainty scallop on the purple diecut paper... *swoon*

the next few cards were all put together with leftover kit materials from The Story Matters September kit. these are *my* colors. my whole bedroom is nothing by sky blue, chocolate brown, orange and a celery/limey green. :)

99% of the cards in my shop are finished inside and out. i just think it adds a whole other level of beauty to the handmade card and gives it a nice flow.

since i can't live without foam tape, the majority of them also have lots of texture and dimension. my favorite purchase ever has been my cuttlebug machine to use with embossing folders. the kraft cardstock on this card was embossed using it. my second favorite purchase? my Fiskars border punches. i used the Upper Crest border on this card. (and no, i'm not getting paid to promote those products).

here's a closer peek at the dimension the embossing adds to the cardstock. lovely, yes?

and again, finished on the inside. usually a repetitive design from the front. and some 'xo' stickers. love adding those. :)

more pinwheels! if you missed my tutorial on how to make them, you can find it here.

oh, butterflies, how i love thee! my Marvy Uchida butterfly punch makes the most delightful butterflies. i like to double them up and create dimension like shown on this mini-card.

i think this might be a new favorite color combo of mine. watermelon, navy, butter yellow and mint green. mmmmm.

there's those charming little letters again. :) i wanted to keep the inside lightly embellished since the card front is full of flutters.

and lastly (for today, anyway), i finished this one. not entirely thrilled with it, so i didn't put it in the shop. i'll just tuck it away for one of those unexpected birthday invitations that inevitably come along.

i made it using leftovers from the July kit (sold out--sorry!) at The Story Matters with a SRM Sticker sentiment from this sheet.

i used a sheet of Pink Paislee border & banner stickers along with my 2" circle punch to create the icecream cone--topped with a rhinestone cherry of course. not sure if you can tell, but the cone was a banner sticker that i stamped made a mess out of using the star stamp that the background was stamped with. yeah. i don't claim to be a stamping extraordinaire, LOL. the yellow circles with stars was a border strip, cut down. the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

so, yeah. that's about all the creating that's been happening around here in the past 10 days. not much--but i'll take what i can get.

get 'em before they're gone.

mini ETSY update!

you might remember these from a few weeks ago. well, i photographed them and had them all ready to put on ETSY, then, i misplaced them.

but, now they are found.........and in the shop!

along with some cards too. :)

Fabric Flowers

working on another ETSY update! :) i'll keep you posted.

but in the meantime, could you say some prayers and think good thoughts for my Papa? he fell from a ladder yesterday and was taken to the hospital as a trauma. he gashed open his arm and knocked himself unconscious. a CT scan revealed a brain bleed so they admitted him last night. today he's in a lot of pain.

here's what i'm working on for the update.......

ETSY update!

the shop is full again with another batch of embellishments!